In a letter to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), the federal Sports Ministry has asked it to form a temporary committee to run the affairs of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI).
The development came after the ministry suspended the newly-elected WFI after prominent wrestlers Bajrang Punia, Sakshee Malikkh, and Vinesh Phogat expressed concerns over the elections of the wrestling body.
After the wrestlers raised their concerns, the Sports Ministry also noted that the newly-elected body was working under the complete control of members of the former body, which seem to be under the direct influence of former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
“Taking note of the compelling current situation arising out of the influence and control of the WFI's former office bearers, serious concerns have arisen about the governance and integrity of the WFI”, Tarun Pathak, undersecretary to the federal government, said in a letter.
Row Over Newly-Elected WFI
The row over the newly-elected wrestling body panel and its chief Sanjay Singh started after Punia, Malikkh, and Phogat raised questions about Singh having been a close aide of former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and whether he would work under his influence.
Wrestlers have twice staged protests against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, accusing him of sexually harassing female wrestlers and misconduct in the wrestling body.
Malikkh during a press conference even said that she was going to quit wrestling, claiming the panel that won the elections is close to the former WFI chief.
Meanwhile, Punia also decided to return his Padma Shri (fourth highest civilian award of India) to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and kept it on a footpath outside his official residence in New Delhi when the Delhi police stopped him from going in.
In the recently concluded WFI elections, Singh defeated former Commonwealth Games Gold medallist Anita Sheoran. Notably, Sheoran was a witness in the sexual harassment case against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.